Mirror of Gold
by clagjanet
Summary: An AU version of the episode "Mission of Gold. Amanda takes comfort in knowing her family and friends are there for support.
1. Close Call

It hadn't had any of the usual adrenaline rush, none of the heightened awareness, none of that hair-on-the-neck-prickling feeling that always came when they were in danger. Far from it, it had been a gloriously quiet morning, sun sparkling off the water, Lee's long fingers linked with hers, his thumb running over the band of gold on her ring finger.

"You want to tell him we're married, don't you?" she'd teased and Lee had turned that huge grin on her, blushing slightly that she'd seen through him so easily but with _such_ a look of anticipation. He had looked like a kid in a candy store – no, more like a kid who'd been given a candy store for Christmas.

"He doesn't know anybody we know except my uncle, and he won't say a word if we tell him not to. What do you think?"

She hadn't been able to keep herself from smiling back. "I think I'll burst if I don't tell someone," she answered conspiratorially.

Lee's smile had brightened, if that was even possible and his look of pure glee had made her laugh out loud.

They'd pulled up in the marina and stepped out of the car. She looked around, meeting Lee's grin over the top of the car and as his eyes had moved past her, fixing on something or someone behind her on the docks, she had glanced up to see a figure up the hill above them. It took her a moment to realize what was wrong with what she was seeing and then everything had gone into slow motion.

"Amanda! Get back in the car!"

She'd already been moving instinctively for cover. Her mind had recognized and reacted to the shape of that sniper rifle aimed their way and then the odd buzz of bullets had had her moving even before she'd consciously recognized what it was. She'd heard Lee shouting, the sound of splintering glass and then - silence.

That silence had seemed to last a lifetime, although it could only have been a few seconds. And then the anguished cry that sounded like it was coming from a million miles away.

"Oh my God! Nooooo!"

She didn't remember getting out of the car. It had been like an out of body experience standing there, feeling like someone had just punched her in the solar plexus. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she couldn't think. Lee was flat on the pavement, his normal pallor now an ashen grey, and that wonderful smile gone and then the older man who was kneeling beside him had shifted and she'd seen the rapidly spreading red stain on her husband's chest.

She fell to her knees, reaching to try and stem the flow of blood but knowing it was impossible. She could hear the faint sounds of him struggling for breath and knew that was a good sign – he was still alive – but the blood – the blood was everywhere.

"Gus – get an ambulance!" she'd heard the man growl and somehow dimly realized this must be Barney.

Their eyes met over Lee's chest. "Don't you worry," he said. "We'll get him to hospital and he'll be fine."

"He can't go like this. Not now. Not here," she answered hoarsely.

Barney reached to rest his hand on top of both of hers where they were crossed, pressing down on the pulsing wound. "He won't. We won't let him."

Amanda nodded, reassured by his certainty. Of course, Lee wouldn't leave her, he'd made a vow.

They'd let her ride in the ambulance, the siren giving voice to the screams of pain she was keeping inside. She hadn't even been able to touch him as they drove to the hospital; the team had been working to keep him alive and all she could do was watch. She had managed to squeeze his hand and kiss him before they had taken him to surgery, but his lips had been cold and unresponsive.

"I don't understand. What even happened?" she asked Barney, when he finally caught up to them in the waiting room. Her voice broke as she tried not to sob. "Who did this? Why were they shooting at us?"

"They weren't shooting at you, Honey," said Barney in his gruff voice. "They were shooting at me and Gus. I'm so sorry you got in the way. I'd give anything to be the one in there instead of Lee."

She could tell he meant that, but it still didn't help her understand. "But why?" she asked again.

"It's the damn gold," he said, looking across the waiting room at his friend. Amanda vaguely remembered Lee saying his name was Gus. "Are you happy now? Look what your damn foolishness has caused!"

"I never meant it to go like this; you know that," said Gus, pleading. "Nobody should have gotten hurt, least of all your boy in there." He turned his gaze on Amanda. "It's all to do with the gold on _La Bodega…_ gold that shouldn't be there."

Amanda stared at him numbly; she couldn't make any sense of what he was saying. Movement in the corner of her eye distracted her and she turned to see a figure in surgical scrubs emerging through the swinging doors. She leapt to her feet and ran forward as the doctor paused, leaning back against the wall in exhaustion.

"Doctor Neely? How is he? How's Lee?"

Dr. Neely sighed and straightened up. "We've stabilized him but he's still in surgery. I'm not going to lie to you, Mrs. Stetson, we've still got a long way to go." Amanda felt Barney stiffen beside her on hearing the doctor call her that, but she was past caring who knew what – she just wanted to hear about Lee.

'He's going to be all right, though... isn't he?"

Neely took a deep breath, measuring out his words carefully. "The next forty-eight hours will be critical. It's a miracle he's alive. The bullet passed through his chest. If it had been a fraction of an inch in either direction, he wouldn't have had a chance."

Amanda stumbled back as the force of the words hit her, and felt Barney steadying her. "When can I see him?"

"He'll be in post-op for a few hours after we finish in the operating room and then he'll be moved to ICU, but that won't be for several hours and we'll be keeping him sedated until at least tomorrow morning. You should go home and get some rest. It's going to be a long recovery and you'll need your strength."

Barney wrapped his arm around her and gave her a light squeeze. "The doctor's right, Amanda. You come home with me and get something to eat and a rest. My apartment is only a few minutes from here – we can be back just as quickly from there."

Amanda searched the doctor's face, seeing nothing but sympathy there and nodded. "You'll call me if there's any change?"

"Of course," he nodded.

Barney turned to guide her away but they had only gone a few steps when she stopped abruptly.

"The Colonel," she said, hollowly. "I have to call him. He should know… he should be here. I- I… I can't remember if I have his number in my address book…"

"I've got his number at home," said Barney. "You can call him from there. Come on."

"Oh," she sighed. "And Billy. Our boss," she clarified off Barney's inquisitive look. "I need to call him too. He'll need to know." She looked despairingly back at the doors that led to the surgical area.

"Well, my phone can call Washington too," he replied. He moved in front of her and squeezed her hands. "Amanda? Come on, Honey. Lee's in the best possible hands and you wearing yourself out won't help him any."

"I should stay with him," she whispered. "The sun's going down soon and he doesn't like the dark. And he hates hospitals, he just _hates_ them. He can't stand the noises and the nurses waking him up and the food and the poking and the prodding…" Her voice had started to rise along with her panic at the idea of being separated from him and then broke. "He tries to hide it but he doesn't like to be alone," she finished in a hoarse whisper.

"He's not alone," Barney consoled her. "And it's never dark in a hospital room. Lee knows that better than anyone, and you do too, I bet."

Amanda nodded, acknowledging Barney's attempt to comfort her, and forced a small smile on her lips. "He does seem to spend a lot of time in them."

"Well, there you go," Barney smiled back. "Now we can't do a lot for him right now, but we can go make those phone calls, right?"

"Right." With one last longing glance behind her, Amanda followed Barney out into the warm California evening.


	2. Phone Calls

"Do you want me to call him?" asked Barney after spending ten minutes watching Amanda stare at the phone, chewing her cuticle.

"No, I should do it," she answered. "It's my responsibility – after all, Lee's my- partner," she finished lamely.

Barney grinned and pulled her hand away from her mouth, holding it so that they could both see the sparkling diamond ring and gold wedding band. "Partner, hmm?"

"We were going to tell you," said Amanda, all in a rush. "Lee was talking about it right before…"

"He didn't need to tell me anything," said Barney. "I could hear it in his voice when he called me about coming to visit. The way he talked about you…" He gave a low chuckle. "And the Colonel too. He called me just after he met you a few years back. He said Lee had found the perfect girl but he just didn't know it yet." He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Guess he figured it out, huh?"

"Yeah," Amanda smiled back at him. "I guess we both did." She took in a deep breath and pulled the phone toward her, then dialed the number Barney had written out for her. Before she could even bolster her courage, a familiar voice answered.

"Clayton."

"Colonel Clayton? It's Amanda. Amanda… King… Well, Sir, I'm afraid I'm not very good… there's been an accident. Lee's been hurt." She closed her eyes as Lee's uncle began barking questions at her, and felt Barney drop an arm around her shoulders. "Yes Sir, I think you should come, Sir… No Sir, we're in California…"

Her voice dropped away and Barney reached to take the phone from her. "Bob? It's Barney. Yes, we're all here in Las Palmas... You need to get out here – Lee's in a bad way." He glanced at Amanda. "We don't know yet, but they're hopeful… No, it wasn't work, it was an accident. It was all my fault."

"No, it wasn't!" said Amanda fiercely. "It was the fault of that man who shot him!"

"Yes, you heard that right, Bob," Barney sighed into the phone. "Can you come? … Good. Come to the apartment when you get here – we're back here now while we wait for him to get out of surgery."

A few moments later, he hung up and stretched to reach the coffee cup and push it into Amanda's hands. "He'll be here as soon as he can. The base is only a few hours' drive away."

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Do you want to put off calling your boss until tomorrow?" he asked. "You might have more information about Lee's condition by then."

"No, he'll have been alerted by now," said Amanda. "The sheriff knows Lee's an agent – he'll have sent a report automatically, and Billy will be worried and I don't know what I'm going to tell him! I still don't know who or why or…" She gulped and looked at Barney. "What happened, Barney? Why did they do it?"

"It was probably Brockett," he sighed. "Gus has been riling him up, interfering with his treasure hunting. Looks like he poked the bear one too many times"

"La Bodega," said Amanda. "You mentioned that."

Barney nodded. Quickly and concisely he filled her in on everything Gus had found out about Brockett's supposed treasure trove.

"And now they're shooting at you?" she questioned. "Mr. Dorsey, that sounds like your friend has gotten himself into something a lot more serious than just treasure hunting."

"Amanda, first off, you need to call me Barney – we're practically family now, aren't we?" Off her nod, he went on. "And you're right – Gus already thought there was something hinky about this whole thing, but the police aren't interested."

"I bet they're interested now," she said wryly.

"Too little, too late," answered Barney. "Sheriff Waterhouse is a good man but he has no imagination and he lives by the rules. And that chip on his shoulder will be a little bit bigger if he thinks federal agents are going to come interfering in his patch."

"Oh!" Amanda gasped. "I haven't called Billy yet!" She glanced at her watch. "It's late there – I don't even know how to contact him."

"You just call his office –someone will find him for you," Barney counselled her. "You said the sheriff would have sent him a report right? He'll be expecting your call."

"You're right – of course, you're right," Amanda nodded. She reached for the phone, pausing to take a deep breath before she dialed.

To her surprise, Billy answered on the first ring.

"Sir? It's me, I mean, it's Amanda…" she began

"Amanda? Where are you?" he interrupted her. "We've been trying to get hold of you."

"What?" It hadn't occurred to her that he didn't know. "I'm in Las Palmas, Sir. In California."

"Yes, of course you are. Are you at the hospital now?"

"No Sir," she replied, then swallowed to fight the tightening in her throat. "I'm with one of Lee's friends, Barney Dorsey."

"Thank God," she could almost hear him slumping with relief. "No one could find you at the hospital and the sheriff's report didn't say where you were staying." His voice gentled. "How is he, Amanda?"

"Well, Sir, I flew out here as soon as I heard…"

"Amanda," he reprimanded her gently. "You're mentioned in the sheriff's report."

He didn't have to say anything else – it hit her how ridiculous it must seem that she'd still be trying to hide that they were here together. She closed her eyes at the memory of Lee laughing as he told her how Billy had teased him about their supposedly separate trips.

"He's… It's pretty bad," she choked out. "They operated all day – the doctor said they won't know for certain for at least 48 hours."

"What happened? I have the sheriff's report but it's so damn full of holes, I can't make heads or tails of it."

"I'm still not really sure. Lee's friend, Mr. Dorsey," she looked up and met Barney's comforting gaze. "Barney… he says it's something to do with gold smugglers or treasure hunters or…" Her voice cracked as she finally lost strength. "Oh Sir, we were just supposed to be on our… our… vacation and now Lee's… Lee's…" The sob hiccupped out of her and then she couldn't speak at all.

Billy's fingers tightened on the receiver as he listened to her break down. Those two had been through so much together and never lost faith; he couldn't comprehend how the universe could be this cruel to them.

"We'll have a team out there by tomorrow, Amanda. Francine's already working on it," he managed to say gruffly, his own emotions obviously barely in check. "Hang on, she's just arrived with the details. I'm going to put you on speaker."

"Oh, you don't need to send anyone, Sir. I've called his uncle and he'll be here tonight. I'm not sure what you could do here…"

Back in Washington, Billy's startled gaze met Francine's identical one. She'd called his _uncle_? Francine had gone pale at the implication of that.

"Amanda, one of my agents – and my friend - has been injured, not in the line of duty but definitely during a crime. You must know I can't just leave it to the local police."

Amanda fell silent. It felt somehow like, if the situation was reversed, that Lee would tell them not to come, that he'd handle it by himself, but she felt so overwhelmed. "Thank you, Sir," she said finally. "But this is a very small town – I think if Mr. Dorsey's friend is right, all of you showing up will attract a lot of attention."

"I see." Billy thought for a moment. "How about if I send just one agent out?"

"That would be… I'd like that. It's normally the two of us, you know? I don't know if I can do this alone." Amanda struggled for a moment. "Francine, would you…?"

Billy looked at Francine who was already nodding firmly.

"Of course I will," said Francine promptly. "And Amanda? Lee's strong, he'll be fine," Francine said.

The determination in her voice, as if by saying it, she could simply order Lee to be better, made Amanda smile. "Thank you, Francine. I'm sure he will. He's never let me down yet, has he?"

"No he hasn't," said Billy softly. "And we won't let him down either."

* * *

"Amanda? Bob's here."

Amanda roused herself from the light sleep she'd fallen into on the couch and struggled to her feet.

Colonel Clayton was standing in front of her, haggard with worry. Without thinking, she stepped forward and pulled him into an embrace.

"Oh Colonel, it's good to see you."

After a moment of stiffness, the Colonel relaxed and hugged her back. "My dear girl, thank goodness you were with him." He stepped back, with his hands still on her upper arms, maintaining that physical contact with her the way Lee so often did. "How is he? What would they tell you?"

"Well, there still wasn't much to say when they sent us home. He was in recovery, they were going to move him to ICU soon… he hadn't regained consciousness. They said they'd know better in the morning."

"Well, that's ridiculous! I'm going to head down there right now!" The Colonel began to pace around the room. "They might not have been willing to tell you everything, but by God, they'll have to tell me!"

Barney attempted to calm him down. "Bob, it's late at night, they promised to call if anything changed and you charging in there like a bull in a china shop isn't going to make them have any more information than they have now."

"Yes, they will, by God, because they have to! I'm his next of kin and they'll give me answers!"

Amanda and Barney's eyes met, both startled. Barney raised an eyebrow, silently questioning her and after a beat, Amanda gave her head a minute shake. _Not now_, she mouthed.

"Well, Bob," Barney said slowly. "The thing is… once they realized he was a federal agent and that Amanda was there with him, they really did give us all the information they could. Now, you're tired from the drive up here, you're worried and there really isn't anything you can do tonight, so how about I make you up a plate of dinner and then you catch a few hours of sleep before we go back to the hospital in the morning?"

Colonel Clayton glared at him for a moment, then sagged in exhaustion. "You're right." He looked around the small apartment. "But I'll go find a hotel room – if Amanda is already settled here, you don't really have room for me too."

"Oh no, Sir!" said Amanda, reaching to touch his arm. "I'm not staying here. We... I mean, I already have a hotel room from when we got here last night." She paused, taken aback for a moment at the realization of how much had changed in the last 24 hours. She sucked in a breath and blinked back tears. Just that morning, she and Lee had been in bed at the hotel, spooned together, fingers laced discussing their plans for the future and now…

"In fact," she managed to get out in an almost normal voice, "if you could call me a cab, I should head back there and call my mother. Let her know my trip will be a little longer."

"Are you sure?" Barney asked.

"Yes, I… I need to get my thoughts together and let our boss know everything that's happened too. You can fill in the Colonel on everything just as well as I can." She looked into Barney's eyes, willing him to say nothing about her earlier call to Billy and, after a beat, he nodded.

"I'll do you one better – I'll drive you back there myself. It's only a few minutes away," he said. "Bob, you can unpack and settle in the guest room. There's stew on the stove, help yourself if you're done before I get back."

The Colonel looked back and forth between them as if he sensed something wasn't being said before turning and putting his arm around Amanda's shoulders. "You get some rest and we'll come get you in the morning to go to the hospital, how does that sound? I'm sure Skip will want to see you – times like this you want your friends and family around, right?"

"Yes." Amanda closed her eyes. "You do."

* * *

"Mother? It's me."

"Amanda?" Her mother's voice which had been sleepy when she answered was now full on alert with maternal concern. Late night phone calls were never for good news, after all. "What's happened? What's wrong?"

"It's Lee. There was an accident…" She managed to get that out before her throat closed up and she could no longer speak.

"What kind of accident? Is he alright? Are you alright? Where are you? Did you really go to California or did the two of you go somewhere else? You were together weren't you? I know you kept trying to distract me but you know, you never fooled me, not one bit." The questions came rattling down the line and it was all oddly reassuring. For once, she could tell her mother everything and not lie even once.

"Yes, we're in California, yes I'm okay, and yes, we were on vacation together. But this morning…" Amanda closed her eyes and took long breaths to try and calm herself again. "This morning, there was an incident down at the harbour and Lee was shot."

"Shot!?" Dotty's voice was both horrified and unbelieving. "What do you mean 'shot'?"

"Exactly what you think it means, Mother," she sighed. "We don't know what happened – just that there was gunfire and Lee was caught in it."

"How is he?"

"He's… well, he's not good. They operated most of the day and we won't really know anything until tomorrow."

"I'll come out there," declared Dotty. "I can be on a plane first thing in the morning. You shouldn't be alone, Amanda."

"No, Mother, no." Amanda massaged her temples while she tried to gather her thought. "I need you to stay with the boys because I don't know how long I'll be out here with him. We were here to visit one of Lee's old friends and his uncle just arrived a few hours ago – I'm not alone and neither is he."

"Are you sure?" Dotty sounded fretful. "I can't bear the idea of you dealing with this by yourself. That's Lee's family but you need someone too."

"I'm sure," Amanda said softly. "The best thing for me right now is knowing the boys are looked after."

"If you say so, Darling."

"I'll call you as soon as we have any news. And Mother, give the boys big hugs from me, will you? And tell them I miss them more than anything."

"Of course I will, my darling girl. And you give Lee a kiss from me too and tell him that I expect him for dinner just as soon as the two of you get home."

"I will. And Mother... I love you."

"I love you too, Darling. Now go get some sleep so you can look after that man of yours."

Amanda hung up and looked around the hotel room. The maid had tidied up, of course, but Lee's suitcases were still piled nearby and his shirts hung in the open closet where she'd placed them the night before.

"_I can't believe we're alone in a hotel room and you're spending time putting clothes away." He walked across the room and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind._

"_I can't believe you think I don't know that if I let you distract me now, these clothes will just stay in the suitcases the entire time we're here."_

"_Would that be so bad?" His lips nuzzled her neck, his hands now roaming with intent. "We're on our honeymoon- we don't really need clothes, do we?"_

"_I'm not meeting your friend Barney for the first time in a wrinkled blouse and skirt, Mr. Stetson!"_

"_You make a good point, Mrs. Stetson. And I can tell I'm not going to get your full attention until we deal with this." Lee took the last few shirts from her hands, hung them up quickly, then turned back to her, pulling off his t-shirt as he did so. "There. All done," he growled seductively. "Now come here."_

Amanda stood up and walked over to the suitcase rack, opening the case and searching for the shirt Lee had been wearing the night before. She carried it back to the bed, sitting down, then bringing it up to her face to inhale deeply. The scent soothed and broke her at the same time. She sank down onto the pillow, clutching it to her chest and finally, completely gave in to tears.


	3. Role Call

It began as a light tap, but as Amanda struggled to wake, it rapidly escalated into forceful knocking. For one brief blissful second as she opened her eyes, she didn't remember anything about the events of the previous day, but then her gaze settled on the empty pillow beside her and it all came rushing back.

"Amanda! Are you alright? Open up!" The knocking was now accompanied by a familiar demanding voice.

She dragged herself upright and staggered over to the hotel room door, blinking as the bright winter sun hit her face.

"Oh my God. You look terrible."

Francine sounded horrified and Amanda automatically glanced down. She was still wearing the previous day's clothes, complete with blood stains and she was also still clutching Lee's shirt in one hand. "Well thank you so much," she replied reflexively and Francine gave a gasping laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said, stepping forward to hug Amanda. "I'm so sorry." They clung to each other for a moment, both of them drawing comfort from the unusual embrace before Amanda stepped back and wiped her eyes. She moved to the side and ushered Francine inside.

Francine paused, her gaze automatically sweeping the room the way Lee's always did when he entered a new space. Amanda could almost see her making the mental notes about the suitcases, the way her and Lee's clothes were mixed in the closet, the king-sized bed, but when she turned to Amanda, her face was impassive and the first thing she said was "How is he?"

"Fine, as far as I know," she said. "I called the hospital at 3 a.m. when I woke up and couldn't sleep – he was stable but sedated. Then I fell back asleep. What time is it now? I should get back there."

"Six. I just got off the red eye to San Diego and came straight here to drop my stuff. The desk clerk told me she thought you were here and not at the hospital yet."

"The desk clerk is spying on me?"

"You know I can get anything out of anybody with a badge and a thumbscrew," quipped Francine. "Actually, I'm kidding. I told her I was Lee's sister and she gave me the room next door."

"Lee's sister?"

"Well, you and I couldn't pass for siblings and Billy didn't want me announcing myself as an agent." Francine shrugged. "Seemed like the obvious choice."

"Well, it'll certainly surprise the Colonel and Barney if you show up with that story," said Amanda tiredly, sinking back on to the bed.

"Well, they can be in on it, I'm just trying to lay low for now," said Francine. "Now, back on your feet. You're going to get out of those clothes, get in the shower and we're going to the hospital, Mrs. Stetson."

Amanda shot to her feet, startled. "What? How did you know?"

Francine wasn't even paying attention, she was too busy digging through her purse. "The desk clerk again. She talked about you as Mr. and Mrs." She looked up with a smirk. "Of course, regular people usually go with Smith for their little romantic getaways, but I guess you two got tired of doing that all the time. Must be a change of pace to use Lee's real name. And as it turns out - handy for the cover, so that was good thinking on your part."

"We weren't thinking about a cover!" said Amanda in sharp tones, "We were –

"I'm sure we all know what you were thinking. Now, does the hospital staff think you're married? Or his uncle?"

"Hospital, yes. Uncle, no," replied Amanda tiredly. "But Francine, we- "

"Okay, we can work with that. You eloped, wanted to surprise his uncle, it all went wrong…" Francine pulled out her field book from the depths of her bag, then looked at her with a shooing motion. "Now go shower. You can't possibly want Lee to wake up and see you looking like death warmed over. I'll call the hospital and get the latest on Lee, then call Billy."

Amanda swayed slightly where she stood, then realized that Francine was right. The entire thing was workable as a cover for now – she could convince Lee to come out with the truth when he was better, when they could tell everyone together.

_Together_, she repeated to herself. _We can tell everyone when we're back together_.


	4. Temptations

She had just stepped out of the shower and was towelling herself off, when there was a light tap on the bathroom door.

"Amanda?" Francine called. "The Colonel and Barney are here. I'm going to take them to my room to talk while you get dressed, okay?"

"Thank you, Francine," she called back. "I'll be five minutes."

"Take your time. The hospital says Lee is still sedated and I need to find out everything Barney knows. Room 108 when you're ready."

Taking Francine at her word, Amanda took the time to dry her hair and apply light makeup before walking out onto the sunshine and tapping on Francine's door.

"That was quick," Francine complimented her, as she waved her in. "And you look much better."

"I'll feel better when I get back to the hospital and see Lee," she replied.

"I can imagine," Francine nodded. "So here's the deal: Colonel Clayton and Barney know my cover story, and yours. The elopement, I mean," she clarified as Amanda looked confused. "Barney pointed out that it was probably less suspicious at this point if we just let the hospital continue thinking you're Lee's wife."

Amanda looked at Barney gratefully. "Alright, but only if the Colonel is fine with it."

"I am – and you should probably start calling me Uncle Robert, now that we're family." Colonel Clayton reached to squeeze her hand when Amanda gave a quiet gasp. "Covers aside, you and Francine are both family. Right, Barney?"

"Yessir," agreed Barney.

"Okay, so Barney is going to drive you and Colonel Clayton to the hospital then he and I are going to go see his friend Gus. The sooner we start figuring this out, the happier everyone will be."

"Do you need me?" Amanda couldn't help asking.

"No, Lee needs you more right now and this is just getting background from Gus. I'll come by the hospital as soon as we're done and let you know what's going on – just don't forget my cover, okay?"

"I don't think any of us are likely to forget it – and I can't wait to see you explain it to Lee when he wakes up" Amanda smiled at Francine – it seemed incongruous but somehow, more than anyone else, having Francine there made it seem like everything was going to be alright.

Francine seemed to catch some of her mood and smirked back. "Oh, I think he'll have a lot more explaining to do than I will – won't he?"

"That definitely sounds like our boy, doesn't it, Barney?" interjected Uncle Robert. "Stuck in bed and still trying to explain his way out of a situation with two women."

There was a pause and then the small room rocked with laughter.

* * *

It was considerably quieter in Lee's hospital room a few hours later.

Amanda had her hand curled around Lee's holding it while she watched his face for any signs of coming around. She knew it was unlikely – the doctor had made it clear that they were keeping him lightly sedated to help him heal, but this stillness was disconcerting. She kept seeing hope in the smallest things – a decrease in his pallor, the smallest twitch of his fingers under hers – they all fed that tiny flicker of hope she was clutching. She breathed in and out in tandem with the rise and fall of his chest.

A hand gripped her shoulder and Francine slid into the seat next to her.

"How is he?" she asked.

"No change," sighed Amanda.

She rolled her neck, trying to relieve some of the stiffness. She turned to look at Francine, then did a double take as she took in the brunette wig. "What on earth?" she exclaimed.

"Like it?" Francine lifted her fingers to tug the wig into a more comfortable spot. "You should see it with the glasses - I spent my morning playing Marion the Librarian with Gus."

"Do I want to know what that means?" Amanda said in a voice tinged with doubt. "I thought you were just going to talk to him."

"Well, Gus has an interesting theory on that gold Brockett is bringing up but we needed to get a closer look, so I paid the bank manager a little visit."

"Why the bank manager?"

"Oh sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Brockett's been storing the gold at the Las Palmas Bank – I flashed a little bit of badge and asked to do an audit on behalf of the Treasury Department. Then I played a little three card monte with the coins and Gus has gone off to do some research with it."

"Francine! What if you'd gotten caught?"

"What if I had? I'm investigating an attack on a federal agent."

"But you robbed a bank! I don't think Dr. Smyth would condone that, even for an investigation."

Francine grinned. "Oh no, the bank still has all the coins – I just did some fancy moves with a wax impression kit."

"So what do we do next?" asked Amanda.

"We?" Francine looked at her with a raised brow and Amanda sagged in her chair.

"I can't stand this," she confessed. "You know, if the situation was reversed, Lee would be _doing_ something. It would make him just as crazy to sit around here doing nothing as it is me. I can't make him any better by sitting here staring at him, and it were me, he'd probably be out throwing guys around until he got some answers!"

"Well, maybe you should go do some of that," said Uncle Robert from the doorway.

As Amanda looked at him guiltily, he walked further into the room, carefully setting down the two cups of coffee he'd gone to fetch. When she opened her mouth to protest, he stopped her with a raised hand.

"No, Amanda, hear me out. You're right. Lee would be out there, not in here – not because he doesn't love you, but because he'd feel like it was the only thing he could do for you at the moment." He took her hand between his. "He could never sit still; his whole life, he's been in perpetual motion, bouncing from one thing to another. Until he met you that is – you brought him a kind of peace, a purpose and he's finally slowed down enough to smell the roses." Robert leaned in and gave her a grin. "But I think maybe he might have had the opposite effect on you, hmm? He blew into your life and now, I think, you're not quite as happy to let things happen around you, are you?"

Amanda looked up at him soundlessly. It was so tempting – to go out and find the men who'd done this, and she knew Lee would have leapt at the opportunity.

"Come on, Amanda," said Francine, watching her wavering. "I could use another pair of eyes this afternoon. We'll be back before Lee even wakes up, and you can tell him all about how I'm a much better partner than he is."

Amanda choked back a laugh. "That would wake him up," she said as she turned to look back at Lee longingly. "But I don't know…"

"Yes, you do," said Uncle Robert encouragingly. "You've been here for hours and it could be hours more. Get out there and help find the bad guys. For Lee."

"You two aren't playing fair," she muttered, but stood up anyway. "Okay, Francine, where are we headed?"

"First back to the hotel – I need to go from Marion to Marlena," smiled Francine, also standing up. "I think treasure hunters and happy hookers go together pretty well, don't you?"

"You don't think I-" Amanda began to say as the Colonel visibly fought not to laugh.

"Oh no, you can be the Mary-Ann to my Ginger," said Francine. "Come on, let's go."

Amanda started to follow her from the room, then stopped and looked back at Lee. When Francine stopped as well, she waved her on. "I'll just be a second."

Francine nodded with understanding, and stepped outside.

Amanda moved back to the bed, and leaned over Lee, caressing his face gently. "I'm just going out for a little bit, Sweetheart, because I just can't stay in the car any longer, okay. I promise to come right back, so don't you go anywhere, you hear me?" She leaned to kiss his cheek and dropped her voice to a whisper, her lips close to his ear. "Wife's orders, Mr. Stetson." Another moment to press her lips against his, then she turned and left the room.

"Okay, Francine, let's go get these guys," she said in a grim voice.


	5. Revelations

Francine made a knockout redhead, Amanda thought as she watched her at work. She'd always wondered why Francine had such a ridiculous amount of luggage when she was on a case, but seeing this second wig put that in a whole new light – she had enough stuff in there to play several different characters. With Francine now a redhead and wearing an outfit that turned heads, they'd returned to keep watch on Brockett's boat. Eventually, some of Brockett's men from the boat had headed over to the harborside bar, and following them in, Francine had wasted no time in zeroing on them. She was flirting outrageously and encouraging them to boast about their treasure hunt, with a charm and sex appeal that Amanda could only envy, while Amanda watched from the relative safety of a booth nearby.

She glanced at her watch – they'd only been away from the hospital a couple of hours. Without taking her eyes off Francine, she moved across the bar to the payphone and quickly called the hospital.

"No change, Mrs. Stetson," said the nurse on duty, when the call was put through.

"No change?" she repeated. "No improvement either?"

"No, I'm sorry, Ma'am, but honestly, in trauma cases like this, stability is as good as improvement," said the nurse encouragingly.

"Thank you," sighed Amanda and hung up. Across the room, Brockett's men were standing up, obviously heading back to the boat and Francine was waving them goodbye, blowing little kisses and smiling, until the door closed behind the last one. The smile vanished off her face, as her gaze swept the room until she found Amanda.

"There you are," she said, hurrying over. "They're all as dumb as a box of rocks, but they did have some interesting stuff to say. Brockett's been taking all the credit for this gold find, but there's some kind of mystery man that visits him late at night. None of them have gotten a good look at him and they all agree that his visits lately have been leaving Brockett on edge. He should be a happy man, with a king's ransom in gold in his hands, but he's been grouchy all week. And apparently, after the visit last night, suddenly Brockett is carrying a handgun at all times and to me, that smacks of someone who doesn't trust his accomplice much."

"You think this mystery man has something to do with Lee's shooting?"

"I think so – Brockett wasn't arming himself before that happened but if he suddenly realized the guy he was working with had lethal tendencies? It would explain a lot." She shook herself. "Come on, let's get you back to the hospital and check on Lee."

"No," said Amanda, "I just called and there's been no change," she explained off Francine's surprised look. "Let's go see Gus and see if he's figured anything out from your bank visit this morning."

Francine nodded. "Good idea. Better to see if he has anything to add before I call Billy to brief him."

* * *

They found Gus hunched over a stack of paperwork in the messiest cabin Amanda had ever seen – and she'd seen Lee's apartment at its worst. She went to move some paperwork, but stopped at a squawk from Gus.

"Don't! I know it looks messy but I know where everything is!" he spluttered.

The two women exchanged a knowing look, but as if to prove them wrong, Gus suddenly dove into a nondescript pile of paper, rifling through it until he found what he was looking for.

"That's it!" he exclaimed. "I knew Brockett was lying and here's the proof!" he waved it victoriously at them. "The Bodega treasure is fake!"

"Gus," said Francine. "It's not fake – the bank certified all the gold – it's the real thing."

"Oh the gold is real enough," said Gus, flopping back into his chair. "But it's not from the Bodega! Look!" He thrust the paper at them and Amanda hung over Francine's shoulder as they read it through.

"It's a report of a fire at the mint in Mexico City in January of 1769," said Francine. "So?"

"So, if there was no mint, how come Brockett's doubloons all have Mexico City mint marks?" asked Gus, holding up the wax impression Francine had made that morning. "A mint that had burned to the ground three months before the Bodega even made it through the Straits of Magellan?"

"Oh, that's brilliant, Gus," Amanda said, then paused, her brow furrowed. "But then what is this gold? Why go to all this trouble?"

"It's got to be stolen gold," explained Francine, staring up at the ceiling as she racked her brain for answers. "He's laundering it by pretending it's old gold"

"Exactly!" said Gus. "Gold doesn't change with age, so there's no way of knowing how old a doubloon is – unless you screw up and put the wrong date on them!" he cackled with glee. "I knew I'd catch him out! Nobody knows the Bodega better than I do, especially some Johnny-come-lately like Brockett!"

"Okay, Gus – if it's okay with you, I'm going to take this and get a copy faxed to my boss," said Francine.

"And I'm going to go back to the hospital and tell Lee what's going on," said Amanda. "He'll be so mad he's missed all the fun, it's bound to wake him up, just so he can complain."


	6. Relations

When he was a boy, Lee's mare back in Cherbourg had once spooked at something while they were out riding, rearing up slightly and then slipping and falling with Lee trapped underneath her. She'd scrambled back to her feet almost instantly, but he'd been left on the ground, all the breath knocked out of him and with broken ribs that made it feel like there was a hundred pound weight on his chest. He'd been unable to do anything for several minutes except struggle to take shallow breaths and fight to open his eyes. He'd been unable to cry out, his throat clogged as if it had been cinched tight and as he'd lain there, wondering if this is what it felt like to die, some part of his brain had taken note of the incongruous sound of a bird cheeping in a nearby tree. In that instant, he'd felt so insignificant, realizing that even if he did die at that moment, the world was going to keep on turning without him, just as it had after his parents had died. Except for him, ten years old and orphaned, there'd be no one who'd mourn him, not even the uncle who clearly loathed being stuck with him. In that instant of clarity, he'd thought about letting himself slip away, but then his uncle had come pounding across the pasture and basically ordered him back to consciousness.

"Lee! Can you hear me? Wake up!"

He realized he wasn't dreaming that familiar voice; his uncle was really there and fighting through his clouded brain, he slowly realized that the bird tweets had given way to the faint beeping of hospital machinery. The weighty feeling on his chest didn't shift though, and as he struggled, the blinding pain went through his entire body like a lightning bolt.

He could hear his uncle's voice calling a nurse in a voice that sounded almost panicked and Barney telling him not to move as the machinery began to beep in earnest.

_Barney?_ he thought and struggled to understand why he'd be hearing his voice of all people. Why him and not Amanda?

_Amanda! _ He began to struggle to open his eyes now as the memory flooded back. They'd been at the harbor, Barney had been running toward him and the bullets had started flying. Amanda had flung herself to safety… hadn't she?

He tried to call her name but his throat wouldn't work and some part of him dimly realized he was intubated. He tried to lift his hands to pull it out in a panic but he had no strength. Finally he managed to open his eyes – long enough to see that Amanda wasn't there.

_Where is she?_ his mind screamed. _She's always there when I wake up._

He could hear the monitor's beeping increase almost to a one long screaming squeal as his panic was reflected in his heart rate, and then everything went mercifully black.

* * *

Amanda rounded the corner of the corridor in time to see the crash cart team thundering down the hall and into Lee's room. As she raced in behind them, Uncle Robert caught her in his arms and pulled her to the side as she struggled to escape. They both froze as the monitor made the unmistakeable whine of Lee flatlining.

"Lee!" she yelled at the motionless figure on the bed. "Lee, no! Come back!" She tried to fight her way to him. "Don't leave me!"

The Colonel held her tighter. "No, Amanda, keep back – we'll only be in the way."

"What happened?" she asked, never taking her eyes off her husband. "He was stable, no change they told me. They promised he was fine."

"He will be fine," said Uncle Robert fiercely. "The team is right here – he's in good hands."

A nurse came in and firmly pushed them both toward the door. "That's right," she said "But you need to leave and give them room to work."

"Don't leave me," Amanda whispered again, as she let herself be led away. "I'm right here Sweetheart. Come back."

* * *

_Come back. _

_Amanda?_

_Don't leave me._

_Where are you?_

_I'm right here, Sweetheart. Come back._

* * *

"Dr. Neely?" Amanda shot to her feet as the doctor emerged from Lee's room. "How is he?"

The doctor walked toward them, smiling. "Almost lost him, but he didn't give up. Not for a second... He's holding on, so we're back where we started...with a long ways to go. Your man's a fighter though."

"That he is," replied Uncle Robert, as Amanda sagged against him with relief.

"You can go in and see for yourself," said Dr. Neely. "And don't be concerned by the oxygen tent – that's just a precaution."

Amanda and Uncle Robert moved as one toward Lee's room and stepped inside. The monitor which had been shrieking not that long ago was now emitting a reassuring steady beep.

"He's going to be okay," said Amanda. She needed to say it out loud, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

"Of course he is, Dear," said his uncle, wrapping his arms around her. "He's too stubborn to give up on anything, especially when he loves you so much."

Amanda pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Oh Colonel. You can't-"

"Hey, none of that – Uncle Robert, remember?" he teased her. When her face crumpled with guilt, he hugged her again. "Oh Amanda, you know he does – we all know he does. That boy can pretend to be a lot of things but he is lousy at pretending he's not head over heels in love with you. Knew that from the first time I met you."

"Oh, when you first met me, I wasn't anything – I wasn't even his partner properly back then – not that he'd admit anyway," she answered with a watery chuckle.

"Now that's where you're wrong," Uncle Robert chuckled along with her. "Even at that first dinner, I could tell – you were the first girl he was really proud to introduce me to. And he was trying so hard to impress you."

"Impress me? Oh no, he was trying to impress you!" she protested half-heartedly.

"Oh, he gave up on that a long time ago," said Uncle Robert as he guided her to the chair beside Lee, then pulled up another for himself on the opposite side of the bed. "But I have to admit, it was fun to watch him tie himself in knots. He was so worried I'd say something that would make you think less of him and believe me, he'd never cared about that with the girls he'd introduced me to before that."

"He only asked me along because he'd just broken up with someone," said Amanda. "A girl named Randy. And he just didn't want-" She stopped abruptly as she realized how that sentence was going to end.

"Didn't want to be stuck alone with me?" Uncle Robert twinkled at her. "Why do you think I told him to bring a date? But then he brought you and you were _different_."

"Different how?" she couldn't resist asking.

"You were on his side right from the get-go. You didn't do any of the things the other girls did – that's when I knew you were going to be the one for him."

"I wasn't taking sides," said Amanda defensively. "I just thought you two should try and get along better. Why would you think I was taking sides?"

"I didn't mean it was a bad thing," grinned the Colonel. "But I'll tell you what tipped me off – you called him Lee."

Amanda looked at him skeptically. "You do know that's his name? I know you enjoy needling him with the Skip thing, but I don't think you've actually forgotten that, have you?"

"No," his uncle chuckled, obviously enjoying himself. "But you were the first one I met who didn't ask me why I called him that – and you were definitely the first one who didn't follow my lead and start calling him that during dinner."

"Whaaat?" Despite herself, Amanda started to laugh.

"Most girls – they'd think it was funny and they'd be calling him Skip by the end of the meal – but not you. Oh no, every time I called him that, you turned around and said his name right away. It was like you were scolding me a little - that showed me you were on his side. I liked that."

"Oh my gosh, you two and your ridiculous arguments," Amanda shook her head. "I thought I was going to have to scold you both that night."

"I could see you getting close a couple of times," Uncle Robert smiled. "But you were much too polite to actually do it."

"Well I hardly knew you, and Lee seemed to have enough on his plate that night." She bent a mock look of disapproval on the Colonel.

"You hardly knew me, but you still took me into your home to try and keep me safe," the Colonel answered with no sign of repentance. "And since you hardly knew me, I also know you didn't do that for me."

"Lee was very worried about you," she shrugged. "I wanted to help."

"And I appreciated it," he sighed. "But you've been more than just his helper for a while now. I hope the fact you were here together is a sign he figured that out."

"Oh he did," Amanda smiled as she laced her fingers with Lee's. "We figured that out together."


	7. Plans

"How's he doing?" Francine slipped into the room and took the empty seat across the bed. She reached across the bed to squeeze Amanda's hand, then turned to study Lee. "His color looks better."

"He is better," said Amanda, quietly. "He tried to give us a scare today, but he fought back."

"He always does," agreed Francine.

The nurses had removed the oxygen tent as Lee's vitals had gotten stronger, and although he hadn't yet regained consciousness, Amanda felt more than ever that he was close to coming around.

"He always does," she echoed. "Gosh, how many times have I sat by this man's hospital bed?"

"Too many," sympathized Francine. "But you're a very restful person to have around at times like this. If the situation was reversed, Lee would be a basket case by now and all the nurses would have quit."

"He's not that bad," Amanda protested. She met Francine's smile and couldn't help smiling back. "Well, he hasn't been in a long time."

"He hasn't been a lot of things in a long time," agreed Francine. "But he's still a fighter – and once he comes out of this, you'll have a fight on your hands getting him to take care of himself. Injuries are bad, but recovery is such a pain in the ass."

"I was thinking about that," said Amanda slowly. "I'm going to take him home."

"Well, of course you are," agreed Francine. "He can't stay out here."

"No," said Amanda. "I mean, I'm going to take him _home_. To my house."

Francine looked at her, astonished. "Your house? With your family?"

"He's met them," Amanda shrugged. "They like him, he likes them. He shouldn't be home alone like this. My mother already said she'd help look after him."

Francine studied her, watching the blush rise in her cheeks. "You think he'll go along with that?"

"I'm not going to give him a choice," stated Amanda. "We're partners and you and I both know Billy will back me up and make it an order." She looked down at Lee, and Francine watched as her face softened. "But yes, I think he'll go along with it."

Amanda looked back up. "So what have you found out? Don't even try to hide it – you have that look."

"You're getting good," Francine nodded approvingly. "You're right – I got Sheriff Waterhouse to loan me a deputy for some surveillance on Brockett and we got some pictures of his mystery late-night visitor. They weren't great but they were good enough for Ernie the Camera to identify him - it's Norton Scott."

Amanda closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Wait, don't tell me – I know that name…" Her eyes flew open. "The Harper's Ferry heist!"

Francine nodded. "Yep – one of the most notorious gold heists in the country and now we know where it's gone."

"That's fantastic! Have you arrested him?"

"Not yet – he's laying too low. We know Brockett is picking up the gold from the bank tomorrow. We're going to let him lead us straight to Scott."

"You think he'll show up?"

"I don't think Scott would pull off that job and then take his eye off Brockett for a second. Brockett's nowhere near smart enough for Scott to trust him with anything except taking the fall."

"Was it Brockett or Scott that had Lee shot?" Amanda's expression had turned hard.

"We may only find that out when we get them in an interrogation room."

Amanda was quiet for a moment, watching Lee as he breathed, the rise of his chest in counterpoint to the quiet beeping of the machinery.

"I want to be there," she said finally, looking determinedly across his body at Francine. "I want to be there tomorrow when you get them."

"Are you sure?" Francine was startled. "Don't you want to stay with Lee?"

"No matter how much I want it, I can't be sure he'll even be awake tomorrow. He almost died again today," Amanda answered. "He puts his life on the line for his country every day. And then yesterday, all he did was step out of a car to visit a friend and he almost _died_. I need to know the person who did that is going to pay."

"Amanda, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I want to be there," she repeated firmly. Seeing that Francine was about to protest again, she went on. "Francine, I have spent the last three years helping Lee and being trained by Lee and learning how to help people from Lee – if I am not involved in catching the people who did this… what was the point?"

There was a beat of silence, then Francine nodded. "You're right. You're not the naïve teacher's pet I thought you were when we met. I could use a partner and you deserve to be there." She held out her hand across Lee's body and Amanda shook it firmly.

"Thank you."

* * *

"I am not staying in the car, Francine!"

Despite Francine's capitulation about allowing Amanda to take part in the capture of their two suspects, she and Amanda were now standing toe-to-toe, arguing over the roles assigned.

"I'm not saying you have to stay in the car – I'm saying you need to maintain a position as a member of the observation team!"

"So staying in the van, instead of the car? That doesn't work for Lee and it's not going to work for you either!"

"Amanda," said Francine patiently. "You have spent the last several months in classes with Beaman and Zakowski and any number of other teachers to learn what exactly?"

"How to be an agent," said Amanda. "And that's what I want to be today!"

"And what else?" demanded Francine. When Amanda stared back at her, puzzled, she went on. "Procedures, Amanda. Ninety percent of what we do is procedures, right?"

Amanda nodded, unwillingly.

"You are involved in this case as an agent but also as a victim – second hand, perhaps, but you were almost a target. So we can't have anything in this takedown that suggests that you – a trainee agent – were doing anything that could be fought in court later. Right?"

Amanda nodded again, frowning now. "But I could be more help! I saw the man who shot Lee. Not for very long, but enough to identify him maybe!"

Francine sighed and stared down at the desk to control her impatience before looking back up again at Amanda's determined expression. "Are you armed?"

"Well…no," admitted Amanda.

"Do you think it's likely Norton Scott is armed?"

"Yes." Amanda was getting less argumentative as she saw where Francine was going with this.

"Do you think any of your trainers would tell you it's a good idea for an unarmed, uncertified trainee, possibly suffering from shock and likely to be seeking revenge, to be allowed to take part in the physical takedown of a dangerous suspect? Do you think Lee would think that was a good idea?"

"No." Amanda conceded in a small voice. It was so unfair for Francine to pull the Lee card on her, but she knew she was right.

"Then you can observe and help maintain communications," said Francine. "Because, believe me, it would look bad if there were two of us out there with revenge on our minds." She leaned forward confidingly. "And trust me, nobody but me wants to get them as badly as you do, except maybe Billy, and he's not here."

"Oh yes he is," said a gruff voice. The two women whirled as Billy walked into the small incident room Sheriff Waterhouse had given them for their operations. "What?" he said, off their surprised looks. "You thought I wasn't going to be here to make sure these guys get nailed?"

"I thought we were trying to lay low?" said Francine.

"We are. Brockett's crew has been picked up quietly this morning and the bank and the boat are both under observation by what appear to be tourists and fishermen. We can't afford to do anything to spook them now."

"I'm glad you're here, Sir," said Amanda, standing up.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Amanda," said Billy, walking forward to give her a hug. "How is he?"

"Stable but still unconscious," she answered. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here. His uncle and Barney are with him."

"I'm glad you agreed with Francine just now," nodded Billy. "I only caught the last part of it, but I wouldn't have hesitated to send you away completely if you hadn't agreed. This could be very dangerous and I can't risk anything happening to you – not when Lee is already fighting for his life."

"Yes Sir," replied Amanda. "I understand."

"Good. Now let's go, children."


	8. Vans

Picking up Brockett couldn't have gone more easily. He'd returned to the boat in his disguised van, only to have Scott knock him out and toss him into the hold with a gas leak that would have killed him eventually, if not from inhalation, then definitely from the massive explosion Scott had planned with his timer device. Fortunately for Brockett, and unfortunately for Scott, Sheriff Waterhouse's deputies had arrived on board moments after his departure to save Brockett and disable the timer.

Brockett, interested only in his own hide after realizing Scott had tried to murder him too, had immediately confessed to everything from counterfeiting the coins to things they hadn't even suspected, like sending his men to break in to Gus' cabin.

"Why didn't Gus mention that?" Billy asked Amanda. "Do you think he's hiding something from us?"

"Oh no, Sir, I think it's possible he just didn't notice," she responded. "Gus isn't the tidiest guy in the world."

Billy's eyebrows went up but Francine just nodded in agreement and he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Brockett's arrest by the sheriff left the Agency members to follow Scott as he drive the van to a workshop on the outskirts of town where he began to prep the van to be repainted.

"Do we move on him?" Francine's voice crackled over the radio from her stakeout car.

"Not yet," said Billy. "There are a few other workers around and I don't want any other innocents hurt in this – let's see if it clears out around lunch break and in the meantime, we can document everything he's doing."

He glanced at Amanda who had the binoculars glued to her eyes, watching Norton Scott as if he might disappear if she so much as blinked.

"We've got him cornered, Amanda," he said. "He won't get out of there."

"No Sir," she answered, not moving from her position. "I'm just storing up all the details to tell Lee when he wakes up."

"He'll be proud of you," he commented. "You've been a real pillar of strength all through this whole thing."

"I'm a mess inside," she confessed. "But you know, for better and for worse and all that. And I'll be a lot better when he wakes up and I can go back to being the junior agent for a while."

Billy's eyes went wide at her implicit confession, but then he shook his head.

_They've been partners so long, they really are like an old married couple, _he chuckled to himself.

"He's moving," said Amanda suddenly. "I think he decided the painting was taking too long and got nervous. He's packing up fast."

"Francine?" said Billy into the radio.

"I see him," Francine replied instantly. "Are we moving in?"

"Yes." Billy quietly ordered the other two agents to move cars to block the secondary exits, while Francine pulled into the warehouse parking lot. As she got out of her car, she carefully pulled her gun out and hid it in the drape of her skirt as she approached him, nonchalantly.

From Billy and Amanda's vantage point, they could see the other agents starting to quietly evacuate the workers who were still on site. Something in their movement caught Scott's eye and he moved along the truck for a closer look. Suddenly he paused and reached to adjust the truck's side mirror.

As the mirror moved, the sunlight caught it, flashing into Amanda's eyes like a beacon, then she watched as Scott's arm moved across the front of his body.

"He's made Francine," she said, reaching for the van's door handle.

"What?" said Billy whose attention had been on the agents further away.

"He spotted her in the mirror. He's got a gun and she doesn't know."

Before Billy could stop her, Amanda jumped out of the van and was racing across the street.

"Look out!" she yelled, drawing the startled attention of both Scott and Francine.

Scott reacted first, turning his gun on Francine, who leapt sideways at the first shot, tumbling down behind stacked crates. Without hesitation, Scott turned to clamber into the van, while Amanda ran to Francine.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine! Just twisted my ankle. No!" she yelled as Amanda leaned down to grab her gun. "You stay here and let Billy and the others take care of him."

She might as well have told the tide to stop coming in. Amanda had turned back toward the moving van, her arm sweeping along the same trajectory it was taking.

_Follow its path and shoot just ahead of it, _she could hear Lee's voice as clearly as the day he'd taken her out to practice skeet shooting, away from the firing range and all its stresses. _Stay calm, follow its path and squeeze the trigger…_

She fired and watched in satisfaction as the front tire of the van exploded, sending the van careening on a whole new path into the fence around the compound.

"Amanda!"

She could hear Francine yelling at her as she took off running, stopping short in front of Scott as he tumbled out of the van and looked around wildly for an escape route.

"Do. Not. Move," she instructed him in an icy voice, raising the gun and pointing it at his chest

Scott squinted at her, then gave a little chuckle. "Oh I know you – you're that cop's wife. What are you going to do, girly-girl? Shoot me?"

"Don't tempt me. That cop is a federal agent and I'm his partner," said Amanda, lowering the gun slightly. "You can't get away – the place is surrounded."

Scott began to edge away, obviously not believing Amanda would actually stop him. "My, oh my. If only I'd managed to actually kill him the other day, you ladies would all have been too distracted organizing the funeral to bother with me. That was a very unlucky shot."

Amanda had never understood the expression "to see red" before that moment, but at those words, her hand with the gun in it snapped up and Scott's face reflected his fear.

A heartbeat later, Francine's hand closed around her wrist. "Let it go, Amanda. He's not going anywhere."

"He shot Lee," she said, not releasing the gun.

"I heard him," said Francine, gently. "And he'll pay for that. Now give me the gun."

Billy had arrived by this time and were standing, guns drawn, holding their breath as they waited for Amanda to put hers down.

"Come on now," said Francine, still in that soothing voice. "You don't want to waste your time doing paperwork if you hurt him, do you? Lee's waiting for you to come back."

At that, Amanda lowered the gun unwillingly, letting Francine pry it from her fingers. As Francine turned to put it away, and before anyone could stop her, Amanda stepped forward and delivered a resounding slap across Scott's face that sent him reeling.

"You're lucky Lee isn't here – or you wouldn't be standing right now," she said. "But believe me, I'll make sure everyone in your prison knows you were stopped by a couple of ladies. I'm sure it'll make you the pride of the cell block."

She turned and looked at Billy. "Are we done here, Sir?'

"Yes, Amanda. I think you've done enough."

"Then I'll be at the hospital with Lee when you need my statement. Francine, I'm taking your car."

She turned and walked away, never looking back.


	9. Admission of Gold

"Oh Amanda, thank God you're here!" Barney raced down the hospital corridor to greet her. "It's Lee!"

"No! No, no, no!" she chanted as she broke into a run and ran toward Lee's room. As she approached, Doctor Neely was coming out, blocking her way.

"Oh good, I was just coming to find you," he said.

"What's happened? What's wrong?" she asked, frantically trying to dodge around him.

"Nothing's wrong," said the doctor. "He's regained consciousness and I think he'd like to see you." He moved to let Amanda dart into the room.

Lee's tracheal tube had been removed and somehow he'd found the strength to grab his uncle's shirt. "Where. Is. Amanda?" he had just managed to grind out through the pain, when she flew across the room.

"I'm here! I'm here!" she exclaimed.

"Thank God," said Lee, releasing his uncle and letting Amanda snatch up his hand between hers. "I thought…" He sank back against the pillows, exhausted even by the small effort.

"I'm fine – I just stepped out on an important errand," she said. "I won't leave again."

"Important errand, huh? So did you get him?" he asked, watching her through half-closed eyes.

"We did," she smiled down at him, brushing her fingers through his hair gently. "You don't need to do a thing except get better."

"I hate hospitals," he said sleepily. "I wanna go home."

"I'll get you home as soon as I can," she soothed him. "You just hafta get a little bit stronger, okay?"

Lee's eyes opened wider and focused on his uncle who had moved to stand behind Amanda and Barney who was hovering near the door. "It must be bad if you're here," he said.

"Nah, you only have a few stitches. I was just in the neighborhood, visiting Barney," answered the Colonel, obviously trying to hide his emotions. "And he was here, just keeping Amanda company."

Lee laughed a little at his uncle's response, then gasped as the pain hit. "More than a couple of stitches, I think," he said.

Barney leaned out the door and called for a nurse.

"Maybe a bit more," teased Amanda and she pressed a hand gently down in his chest to keep him from moving again.

Lee's gaze dropped to her hand and the rings she was wearing and a soft smile went across his face. "Not much of a honeymoon, huh?" he said, too softly for his uncle to hear.

"Not just yet," she whispered. "But it's better now that you're awake."

"How long was I out?"

"Two days, almost three."

"So they know?"

"Barney guessed. Everyone else thinks it's a cover."

"A cover?" Lee frowned. "You didn't tell them?"

Amanda shrugged. "I didn't want to, not without you." She lifted his hand to her face, struggling to hide the tears that threatened. "We do things together, you and me, don't we?"

"I love you," Lee breathed out.

"I love you too." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his gently, then pulled away so she could gaze at him again

"Colonel?" Lee raised his voice slightly. His uncle had moved away to continue giving them some privacy but he turned back instantly at Lee's call. "Colonel…" he stopped, struggling to catch his breath, then started again. "Uncle Robert… Barney… I'd like you to meet… Amanda Stetson." He smiled as his uncle's look of stupefaction turned into a grin. "My wife."


End file.
